On his recent visit to Colombia, David Andrews found a constant undercurrent of violence
Last Sunday week I returned from Colombia. I was asked to go there by the mother of one of the three Irishmen who was arrested by Colombian police on suspicion of travelling on false passports and of being involved with FARC, the left-wing opposition grouping.
She is a long-time constituent of mine and she told me that she was worried about her son and the danger he was in. She made the arduous journey to Colombia herself and when she returned, she contacted me and impressed on me that she was convinced that there was a real risk and that if nothing was done at a high level by the Irish Government, her son and the two other Irishmen would not survive to stand trial.
I was accompanied by Spanish-speaking Caitriona Ruane of the Bring Them Home Campaign and also by an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
During my visit, I twice met Niall Connolly, Martin McAuley and James Monaghan in La Picota prison. A number of times I also met lawyers representing the three men and met senior figures in the Colombian administration, including the Minister for Justice.
Lest readers be in any doubt as to the real reason for my trip, having myself read a number of ill-informed, inaccurate and personally offensive articles in other Irish publications, I hold no brief for the IRA or for Sinn Féin. Anyone who knows me at all, will testify as to my views on the subject of violence as a means to secure political ends.
They will also know my commitment to human rights and my track record in pursuit of human rights, from Iran to Somalia and East Timor.
My brief did not extend to assessing the guilt or innocence of these three men: that is a matter for the Colombian justice system and I am satisfied that they are represented by Colombian lawyers of the highest competence. I met their legal team on several occasions during my visit to Bogota. They worry that the case has become politicised.
The peace process in Colombia is delicately poised and there is no certainty as to its outcome. There are presidential elections this year and this has created its own pressures on the Colombian President to be seen to be strong in the face of a violent opposition campaign by FARC.
His main opponent leans heavily to the right and draws support from right-wing factions, some of which are extreme in their aims and their means of achieving them.
The result of this has been conditions of detention for these three men that have been unsatisfactory. They have been moved from prison to prison and, while they are, at present, in the highest-security wing of the highest-security prison in Colombia, they have spent time in locations where they felt extremely vulnerable and where their prison conditions were poor.
Colombian jails are seriously overcrowded. A prison system that is designed to accommodate 30,000 prisoners at present holds more than 50,000.
In La Picota prison, the three men share their wing with three right-wing paramilitaries, three left wing paramilitaries and nine suspected drug dealers, all of whom are awaiting trial on serious offences. Each shares a cell with a Colombian prisoner and they are in fear for their lives.
Their alleged association with FARC makes them vulnerable to the right-wing paramilitaries, and guns have recently been located in the prison. They are not shackled. The recent unsuccessful attempt to have them moved to a prison in a distant part of Colombia, away from their lawyers, does nothing to calm the fears of the men and their families that there is more to this business that just their guilt or innocence.
That they have not yet, after five months in custody, been charged with any offence, also causes concern. That the prosecuting authorities have completed their investigation without interviewing any of the witnesses tendered by the lawyers for the men is difficult to reconcile with the assurances we have been given that due process is guaranteed. The media coverage, both in Colombia and in the US, has been prejudicial. The worry remains that the three will be brought to trial not on the basis of evidence gathered, but as part of the difficult political context.
My visit was designed to reinforce the families' concern that the three men should be safe and be treated properly while in custody. Colombia is a country that has been embroiled in internal strife for many years. My own experience is that there is an undercurrent of violence present at all times and, while the Colombian people with whom I met were courteous and helpful, it is impossible to remain unaware of the parlous state of this beautiful country and the relatively low value that appears to be placed on human life there.
I have reported on my visit to the families of the three men. I have also reported to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. It is my fervent hope that all necessary steps will continue to be taken by the government to ensure the safety of these three men and the speedy resolution of their situation.
David Andrews is a Fianna Fáil TD for Dún Laoghaire, chairman of the Irish Red Cross and a former minister for foreign affairs